Fragile Dreams
by Cinderfire16
Summary: Because peace never lasts long. "I'd rather they have something to live for, whether it's a far-off dream or her warrior ceremony. I would do anything to make sure they achieved it." "I didn't know that you were one for dreams." "There's a lot you StarClan cats don't know, but that's not the point." (Sequel to Shattered Lives)
1. Kit-like tendencies

_**Fragile Dreams**_

Cinderkit yawned and stretched her legs as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She glanced up to meet her mother's gaze, whose concern shone clear in her eyes.

"Good morning!" She purred innocently. Her mother still stared and she knew something had happened. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Sorreltail asked. Cinderkit shook her head.

"No, why?"

"You were kicking at my sides and mewling in your sleep. You would tell me if-"

"Of course I would, Mom. I'm fine. Where's Jaykit?" She demanded.

"Outside with the others. Squirrelflight is out there, but make sure you don't get under any cat's paws"

"Okay!" She chirped, relieved that Sorreltail didn't press the subject any longer. She didn't like lying to her mother.

The grey she-kit pranced outside the nursery to find her best friend watching their brothers' play-fight. The orange tabby was clearly winning, although he was having a hard time dodging her brother's clumsy bulk. This was a daily thing and she didn't know why she expected anything different. Lionkit and Molekit always tried to outdo each other.

A large brown tabby with ice-blue eyes watched the mock-fight from the young she-kit's side.

"That kit could go far with the right training." He meowed in reference to Lionkit.

"Molekit too!" She mumbled softly in defense of her brother.

"Don't talk!" He hissed. "The others can't see me, remember? Only you and the blind kit."

"Jaykit." Cinderkit meowed softly.

"Don't talk!" The tabby hissed, causing Cinderkit to flatten her ears.

_**But it's his name! **_

"Yeah, sure… Jaykit. I say keep those two close to you. They have skills that can help you one day."

_**Okay. **_

"Jaykit!" She called out to the silent grey cat. The blind tom twitched his ears toward the sound of her voice and scented the air. He got to his paws, checking the air again before padding over to her without bothering to open his eyes. It wouldn't have made any difference.

"What?" He muttered.

"Hi." She purred.

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Hawkfrost says hi too." She murmured.

"Did he say anything else?"

"He wants me to stick with you and Lionkit."

"Lionkit might be able to help us keep the Dark Forest cats away… if he doesn't believe them."

"He's too good for that."

"For now."

"Spar with me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"You're going to be a warrior, remember? Warriors have to know how to fight."

"He can't be a warrior!" Molekit sneered, bounding over from his match with Lionkit.

"Yes he can! He can do whatever he wants!" Cinderkit huffed.

"He's blind, mousebrain. How is he going to catch prey or know who to fight if he trips over his own paws and can't see his prey?"

"I'm blind, Molekit, not deaf. I can hear and feel everything from your mother's breathing in the nursery to Brambleclaw giving out patrols."

"Yeah, sure. The prey will probably smell you coming a mile away and you'll be sloppy. Better start reciting those nasty herbs now, because you'll _never_ be a warrior."

Lionkit snarled and unsheathed his claws. Molekit barely had enough time to move before Cinderkit barreled into her brother. She dug her unsheathed claws into his shoulders.

"Take it back!" She and Lionkit chorused. Jaykit rolled his eyes. He could fight his own battles.

Lionkit crouched beside Molekit and hissed in his ears.

"I said, take it back." He growled.

Molekit unsheathed his back claws and pushed up, yanking grey fur off of the she-cat's belly. Cinderkit cried out and landed beside him in a small grey heap. Molekit got to his paws, only to find Jaykit in his face.

"Move, you worthless piece of fox-dung!" He spat.

"You and Lionkit will take her to the medicine den. Now." Jaykit snarled.

"I don't listen to stupid blind kits that let she-cats fight for them." Molekit sneered.

"Then maybe you'll listen to the leader, who is very capable of delaying your apprentice ceremony." A bright orange tom with jade-green eyes stormed over to the nursery, flanked by his daughters. Squirrelflight, recognizing that this was beyond her control, got Firestar to intervene and Leafpool to check on Cinderkit. Molekit was stubborn and she didn't want to disturb Sorreltail from her well-deserved nap, so she got the next best cats.

"A real warrior can fight his own battles." The brown tom snorted.

"A _real_ warrior doesn't attack his own Clanmates!"

"You-"

"Jaykit is right, Molekit. Warriors don't attack each other unless we have a reason. You know this and the fact that you went on anyway…. I am very disappointed in you." Brackenfur growled.

"He made Cinderkit attack me!"

"Cinderkit made her own choice. You don't throw her above our heads just because she pinned you down. She could die from that, foxbrain!"

"She's not going to die, Jaykit." Leafpool told him. She just has some aches and a few bruises. She'll be okay as long as you're not rough with her."

"Thank you, Leafpool"

"What do you say," Brackenfur prodded his son away from the blind kit.

"Thank you, Leafpool." Molekit scowled.

"Can I talk to you?" Jaykit asked. The tabby medicine cat nodded and flicked her tail. Jaykit followed her into her den, where Cinderkit was sleeping. Jaykit curled up beside her and stared at the light brown she-cat.

"Make sure you don't wake her."

"I won't." He assured her.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Is there any way I could become a warrior?"

Leafpool seemed thoughtful, pausing before she responded.

"Cinderkit was right. You can do whatever you want to."

"That doesn't answer my question. Molekit was right too."

"There was a warrior in our Clan called Stormwhisker. He looked a lot like you, now that I think about it."

"Was he blind?"

"Yes, but you wouldn't know it. He walked around just like every other cat, brought in prey, could fight if he needed to. He preferred hunting and helping his Clanmates to fighting, though, and Firestar told me that he would've become a medicine cat if Cinderpelt hadn't protested it."

"Why didn't she let him?"

"When I asked she said that he had to become a warrior. I think she didn't want a cat to be forced like she was because of her leg, but he went on to become the greatest warrior in the forest. He's the reason we have peace with ShadowClan."

"Why? What happened?" Cinderkit wondered, blinking sleep from her eyes.

"You should close your eyes if your head still hurts. You can still listen." Leafpool assured her patient.

"What did he do?"

"He died on the Great Journey because a ShadowClan apprentice fell over the edge and Stormwhisker was fast enough to rescue him."

"But he couldn't get back up, could he?"

"No, he couldn't. He tried his hardest but the cliff was too steep and the rocks were too loose. He was just out of reach of Blackstar's paw when he fell."

"That's so sad…" Cinderkit murmured. "How did Cinderpelt take it?"

"Why?"

"You said he almost became a medicine cat, so he must've spent a lot of time with her, even if he was a warrior. She would've been sad."

"She didn't speak to anyone for a while, except for me but that was only to care for the Clan. She would snap at any cat who talked badly about him and she hated Firestar for the longest time."

"What did Firestar do?" Jaykit wondered.

"He kept her from helping Stormwhisker. Not that she could've done much good. At least she was the last thing he saw."

"That's sad… but they're together now right?" Cinderkit chirped.

"What?" Leafpool looked shocked. Jaykit laughed softly.

"Mousebrain." He snorted. "They weren't mates."

"Because they couldn't be, not because they didn't love each other." She yawned. Jaykit rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. They were in love. Now go back to sleep."

"Leafpool," She mumbled.

"Yes?"

"Can Jaykit stay?"

"If he wants to and you don't move then sure. I have to go check on my herb stock but if anything happens then tell someone and I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay. Thank you."

Leafpool padded out of the den and quickly found Brambleclaw. The large deputy was focused solely on Squirrelflight before his mate's sister blocked his path.

"Can you watch Jaykit and Cinderkit? I wanted to restock my herbs so I'd have enough and-"

"Sure, Leafpool. You don't have to explain to me."

Brambleclaw padded over to his mate and quickly explained where he would be and the couple padded to the medicine den. Leafpool sighed in relief. They could handle it if anything came up.


	2. Adult Conversations

Brambleclaw wasn't surprised to find his youngest son curled up next to his best friend. They would often end up like that, especially if she had a nightmare. They'd sneak behind the nursery, like he and his siblings often did, spoke in hushed whispers about things that no cat would have bothered to listen for. What could two kits possibly have to talk about besides their next meal and exploring the camp?

Cinderkit stretched an unsheathed paw out and Jaykit's eyes snapped open.

"Cinderkit? Cinderkit, come on, wake up!" He hissed, crawling out of the nest to give her space. The grey she-cat's eyes snapped open and she leapt to her paws, thorn-prick claws unsheathed and glaring around wildly.

"Nightmares again?"

"I don't think they ever stopped. That place is scary, Jaykit. He doesn't belong there."

"I know, and now they know they made a mistake but no one's going to just let him leave. You know that."

"But it's not fair!" She snapped. "He only did all that stuff so he could help her! Why can't he leave?!"

"Because Tigerstar would kill me if he knew what was going on." Hawkfrost appeared beside her. "I have to keep you alive. Mothwing can wait."

"Because he would get hurt if anyone knew. They can't help him."

"Why not?! They're StarClan! They can do anything, right?"

"No StarClan cat would dare to enter the Dark Forest alone, much less to help someone who's being watched. If anyone else caught wind, he'd be dead and so would you. I can't let that happen."

"So that's why you want to be a medicine cat." Cinderkit scowled.

"There are other ways to help the Clan." He assured her. "I'm not sure I want to watch cats get hurt over a piece of prey or die because some mouse-brain decided to move the borders."

"You could be a warrior if you wanted to. Stormwhisker did it."

"Stormwhisker jumped off a cliff." Jaykit growled.

"Stormwhisker helped ShadowClan," Squirrelflight corrected. "He did what was right and died in the process. ShadowClan makes sure their kits know of his sacrifice."

"That doesn't change the fact that he's dead, Squirrelflight, and it doesn't change my decision, Cinderkit. I know what I'm doing." He assured her. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." She scowled. "You'd be more help as a warrior than anything, if you ask me."

"Besides, Leafpool needs an apprentice. Who better to fit the role than me? It's not like anyone ever expected anything different."

"I did," Cinderkit snorted.

"You'll always expect something different, that's why you don't count. I'm going to see what Hollykit and Lionkit are up to. See you later, Cinderkit."

"I'll come with you," Brambleclaw said. "Kits don't normally travel the camp alone and you're no exception."

Cinderkit sighed and curled up so she was no more than a grey mass.

"You like him, don't you?"

"I don't know… I just know that he can't become a medicine cat."

"Why not? He'd make a great medicine cat."

"Same reason Cinderpelt said."

"What do you know about Cinderpelt?"

"She didn't want her best friend's blindness to crush his dreams, that's what. She wanted him to be the best warrior for the both of them."

"Don't you think that's what Jaykit will ask of you?"

She sighed. If this was what her friend really wanted, then she had no words for that, but she couldn't watch him throw his life away just so she could keep hers.


	3. Apprentice Day

**Thank you, Streamshade, for both following and favoriting my story. I'm glad you like it so far and I hope I don't disappoint. **

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Firestar's yowl jolted her from her dreams, all of them good, for once.

"Wake up, slow slug!" Poppypaw crowed. "We're going to be apprentices today!"

Honeykit sat by their mother's side, an irritated look on her face as Sorreltail licked her clean. Cinderkit wrinkled her nose at the thought, but she knew that she, like Honeykit, wouldn't complain.

"Today, we perform one of my favorite duties. It is time for six young cats to become apprentices. Honeykit, Poppykit, Cinderkit, Hollykit, Lionkit, and Jaykit, please step forth. Honeykit, from this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be called Honeypaw. Sandstorm, you are more than ready for another apprentice and have trained Sorreltail to be a fine warrior. I know you can do the same for Honeypaw."

"I'll do my best," Sandstorm murmured as she touched noses with the nervous brown she-cat.

"Poppykit, from this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be called Poppypaw. Thornclaw, you are ready for another apprentice and I'm sure you'll groom Poppypaw into a fine young warrior."

"Cinderkit, from this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be called Cinderpaw. Brightheart, you are more than ready for your first apprentice and I apologize for the delay. You will be Cinderpaw's mentor and I know you will train her well."

"Hollykit, from this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be called Hollypaw. Brackenfur, Greystripe has trained you well and you are ready for an apprentice. You will be Hollypaw's mentor."

"I will do my best."

"Lionkit, from this day forth, until you receive your warrior name, you will be called Lionpaw. Ashfur, you've trained Birchfall into a fine warrior and I believe you will do the same with Lionpaw. You will be Lionpaw's mentor."

"Jaykit, is it my understanding that you wish to train in the ways of a medicine cat?"

"I do,"

"From this day forth, until you receive your name, you will train under Leafpool. She will teach you well and I wish you a wonderful apprentice-ship."

"Thank you, Firestar."

"Poppypaw! Honeypaw! Cinderpaw! Hollypaw! Lionpaw! Jaypaw! Poppypaw! Honeypaw! Cinderpaw! Hollypaw! Lionpaw! Jaypaw!"

The meeting broke up and the newly named apprentices went to get directions from their mentors.

"What are we doing first?" Cinderpaw asked.

"Battle practice or explore the territory?"

"Explore, please."

"Alright then, I'll show you some of the borders and we can hunt on the way."

* * *

"Is something wrong?"

"I have something I want to tell you, but I have to wait until Cinderpaw gets back." Jaypaw informed his mentor.

"Alright, meanwhile, why don't I show you the herbs?"

"Sure, I think I know some of them. I've watched you before."

"Yes, I know." Leafpool murmured softly. "Tell me what you remember."

Jaypaw rattled off the list of herbs like he was reciting his meal from the day before.

"You'll be a great medicine cat, I can feel it," Leafpool told him."

"But?"

"You're awfully close to Cinderpaw. Are you sure you don't want to be a warrior? Stormwhisker proved everyone wrong when he came to ThunderClan, and even though I didn't know him that well, he was a good cat. You can be a warrior if you want to."

"I know."

"I'm telling you because medicine cats can't take a mate or have kits. It's a part of the Code we keep for StarClan."

"Why'd you break it?"

"I loved Crowfeather, I guess I still do, but my Clan is more important to me. I couldn't abandon my family, especially when the badgers attacked and Cinderpelt died. There would've been no medicine cat."

"Do you regret coming back?"

"No. I always knew Crowfeather and I wouldn't really work out."

"Good, because I don't think I would have made it growing up rogue."

"Excuse me?" Leafpool gasped.

"Don't worry, Leafpool, you're not the first medicine cat to break the code and I'm sure you won't be the last."

"How do you know-?"

"That my siblings and I are your kits? How many black cats do you know? Or grey ones? We don't look anything like Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight, but Hollypaw still has green eyes and Lionpaw is definitely Firestar's kin. I just didn't figure it out until you mentioned Crowfeather. I didn't think about it. Don't worry, Leafpool, it'll be our secret. I won't even tell Cinderpaw. There's no point in telling the Clan now. Then we'd have no medicine cats and I like ThunderClan."

"That's not the only way you know. Who told you?"

"It goes with what I want to tell you when Cinderpaw gets back. It's a long story."

"Alright, but you're telling me as soon as she gets back."

"Of course. Do you want anything from the fresh-kill pile?"

"A mouse, please."

"I prefer squirrel, but Hollypaw hates them. Says there's too much fur. I'll be back," He told her. "and Leafpool,"

"Yes?"

"I was serious about the secret thing. I don't want you to lose what you love because you made a mistake."

"You're not-"

Jaypaw padded out of the medicine clearing, leaving Leafpool to gather her thoughts.

"You're not a mistake…"

* * *

"Cinderpaw!"

"Hi Jaypaw! Today was awesome! Brightheart showed me the territory and I got to practice my hunting skills and I actually caught something! It wasn't anything like Lionpaw but-"

"I'm sure it was just as good. You shouldn't always compare yourself to my siblings."

"I'll try," She snorted.

"You said you caught it on your first try? What was it?"

"A mouse. Barely a mouse. I caught one of the younger ones but I marked the nest so some other cat could hunt there when the little mice get older. Brightheart said it was a great idea and that she wouldn't have thought of it that way. I think she was just trying to make me feel better."

"You caught the mouse and you pointed out a great hunting spot for the future. That's more than most cats would expect."

"So how did your first day go?" She asked, noticing that he'd been leading her toward the medicine den.

"I learned a lot of herbs, but I knew some of them from when I watched Leafpool before. We talked as we worked, though, and there are a few things I want to tell you, but I'd need Leafpool's permission and you have to promise you won't tell a soul."

"Like with my dreams,"

"Yeah… I told Leafpool I wanted to tell her something but I needed you to say yes first. I think she might be able to help you."

"Or think I'm crazy and get Firestar to kick me out of the Clan."

"He wouldn't do that," The grey tom snorted. "He'd be losing future Clanmates over something important. Your dreams could be warnings, and your connection is something special. StarClan didn't intend for it to work out this way but the others had a paw in it. They didn't expect him to reconsider his actions after you were born."

"Good point," She mused. "You really like this, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's great. Like I said, I just don't like the idea of fighting other cats, knowing they could die at my paws."

"Me neither. I'm going to be the best hunter in the Clan, like Sandstorm."

"Thank you, Jaypaw," Leafpool murmured around the mouse he dropped at her paws.

"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone."

"She's a medicine cat."

"I highly doubt that she could do anything short of giving me a poppy seed and telling me to get more sleep. Then she would go to Firestar and tell him everything and then they would go to the Moonpool and StarClan still wouldn't have the answers and you would have wasted time and I'd still get kicked out of the Clan. Just… no. I can't do that. I'd rather wait until something happens."

"Like what, you die? If Leafpool and Firestar really thought you were crazy then Leafpool would have told Firestar that something's up because we've given her enough as it is."

"Fox-dung!" She cursed.

"Exactly."

"You won't tell anyone what we were talking about, will you? It's really important that no one knows."

"If you say so…" The medicine cat was obviously confused.

"Good, problem solved. Go hunt or something before some cat figures out you're not helping the Clan."

"Thanks, Jaypaw, I knew I could count on you." Cinderpaw licked his ear and raced out of the clearing.

"You like her, don't you."

"Don't bother; Nothing's going to happen. We've talked about it already."

"When? You only just became apprentices."

"We just did, okay? Can we not talk about this now? What don't I know that I should?"

Mother and son worked the rest of the day. Leafpool continued to quiz Jaypaw on what he knew already and made him recite herbs until he could recognize them by scent like the back of his paws. They were going to use his lack of sight as an advantage.

"Why don't we take a break? You can go get something to eat and talk with your siblings."

"You'll be okay, right?"

"Of course, Jaypaw. Go ahead."

* * *

Leafpool watched her youngest race across the camp to find his siblings. Hollypaw smiled and licked his forehead and Lionpaw batted his ear. The three of them ate happily as they revealed news of their day.

"Are you going to be okay?" Her sister's voice snapped her gaze away from her kits.

"I'll be just fine." The medicine cat assured her.

"Does Jaypaw know?"

"He figured it out on his own, with help from StarClan, I guess, but he knows. I think you should tell Brambleclaw."

"I already did. I'm sorry Leafpool, but I just couldn't keep it from him. He would've found out anyway and I'd rather have him in on the secret and able to help then to find out later and blame it on them. We'll need him on our side if this ever gets out."

"Fair point… sometimes I wish I'd never met Crowfeather, but then I look at those three… I can't regret them."

* * *

"So what'd you do today?" Jaypaw, Hollypaw and Lionpaw sat by the apprentice den as they ate.

"Ashfur took me for battle training and I beat Molepaw!"

"You beat Molepaw in the nursery." Jaypaw deadpanned. "How is this any different?"

"Because now he can't say he's the best anymore because I beat him."

"Sure, Lionpaw. What have you been doing, Hollypaw?"

"Brackenfur took me hunting with Brightheart and Cinderpaw. She caught a mouse, in case you didn't know. I would've caught a squirrel if it hadn't run away at the last second."

"That's pretty cool." Jaypaw mewed wistfully.

"We'll take you into the forest one day, Jaypaw. It'll be just the four of us."

"Four?" Lionpaw looked confused.

"Cinderpaw is coming too, mouse-brain."

Lionpaw rolled his eyes and the three continued to eat in comfortable silence.

**What do you think?**


	4. Nightmare Conversations

**Sorry for such a long wait! I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

"You did pretty well, for your first day out." Hawkfrost offered.

"Thank-."

"Don't speak. I can hear you just fine without you opening your mouth."

_Oh. Right. Thank you._

"What's the point of you two being reborn if one of you is just going to become a medicine cat anyway? You could have stayed in StarClan for that." He snorted.

_Why do _you_ care?_

"Because you're going to be mooning over him for the rest of your life and I have to watch! I'm going to be miserable for the next however many moons you live!" The white-bellied brown tom snapped. "StarClan kill me now! Spare me this terrible fate… I didn't actually kill anyone so why is this of all things the one thing I have to be punished for?!"

_You're just upset because you never had a mate. Is that it? _

"I don't want to watch you two dance around each other for the rest of your lives. Either the warrior code needs to change or Jaypaw needs to change. I doubt the leaders will be changing the warrior code anytime soon so that leaves Jaypaw. You need to convince him that he needs to become a warrior."

_I _just_ became an apprentice. Can I have a day where I don't have to worry about Jaypaw or those stupid Dark Forest cats?_ Please?!

"You have two sunrises before I take over and tell him exactly how you feel." Hawkfrost sneered. Cinderpaw rolled her eyes and curled up to sleep.

_Sure. Whatever._

* * *

"Jaypaw," His eyes snapped open but he squeezed them shut just as fast. It was so bright… then he gasped in shock and slowly opened them again. He could see!

"Jaypaw!" He whipped around, scenting the air for the owner of the soft voice.

"Welcome to StarClan." A thin grey cat with matted fur and orange eyes padded toward him with a tortoiseshell in tow.

"I'm not dead, am I?"

"No, you're not dead." The tortoiseshell assured him.

"Dreaming, then?"

"Smart one, you are." The old grey she-cat snorted. "How'd you guess?"

"I can see and you said I wasn't dead so…"

"Yes, you're dreaming."

"Is something bad going to happen?"

"Not that you should know of. Not yet, anyways. That's not why we're here."

"Then why are you here?"

"Hold on, we're waiting for one more cat."

A blue-grey tabby stepped out of the bushes and padded toward the trio.

"Hello, Jaypaw. My name is Stormwhisker."

"I know who you are."

"Then you also know why we're here."

"It's the only way I can help Cinderpaw."

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, Jaypaw. I actually preferred being a medicine cat to being a warrior. I grew up fighting my whole life. I saw no need to fight anymore."

"So why'd you become a warrior?"

"Cinderpelt refused to let me be her apprentice, so I chose to focus more on the hunting part and only fought when I had to."

"But if she was still a warrior, would you have been a medicine cat?"

"I don't know. I don't regret being a warrior. It was funny to see the looks on everyone's faces when I brought my first kill back, never mind when I fought in my first battle. If things were different I probably would have become a medicine cat, but I can't regret being a warrior. It was my best decision, but you have to make your own. I won't care what you choose."

* * *

Jaypaw's eyes snapped open at the yowl of alarm and he sprang to his paws. Leafpool's ears twitched and she popped an eye open, surprised to see her apprentice racing around the den, gathering the herbs he'd barely memorized the day before.

"What happened?" She asked calmly as she nudged got to her paws.

"Nightmare." He told his mentor. "She's not going to be pretty."

The scream turned out to be one of the warriors who watched Brightheart writhe on the ground as some invisible force gouged out hunks of skin and fur and she screeched and flailed, trying to free herself. Cloudtail stood frozen by her side and Jaypaw knew that the poor non-believer had just gotten his first taste of the Dark Forest. Jaypaw placed the herbs by her side and Leafpool got to work covering raw skin and bleeding wounds before more could appear. Jaypaw touched his nose to Brightheart's… and promptly collapsed. Cinderpaw narrowed her eyes. If Jaypaw could do it then surely Hawkfrost could help them? She needed to go back to sleep anyway.

The first thing he noticed was that the fog was so thick he could barely see two pawsteps in front of him. The second thing he noticed was that he could see. The third thing he noticed was that Brightheart's screams echoed in his ears. He closed his eyes and let his paws guide him. It wasn't like the fog made any difference.

"Go back to StarClan, she-cat. You don't belong here." A cold voice meowed. She'd only seen him once or twice, and she'd never really met him, but Hawkfrost was known to be ruthless… so why wasn't he attacking her?

"Brightheart!" A grey blur crashed into her and she blinked twice.

"Cinderpaw? What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story but we have to get out of here, now! Do you know where Jaypaw is?" She asked Hawkfrost.

"You think I keep tabs on you stupid Clan cats? This is my territory, kit. If I see the other kit then maybe I'll send him back. Leave before I change my mind."

Cinderpaw glared at the Dark Forest cat.

"Fine then. I'll find Jaypaw myself. This place is weird anyway."

Hawkfrost turned his cold, blue eyes onto Brightheart.

"These apprentices do not belong here." He informed the ginger-patched she-cat.

"Neither do you."

Brightheart nodded and scooped Cinderpaw up so she got the message about getting home. "We'll find him, I promise." She told her apprentice. "I promise."

They woke up at the exact same time. Cinderpaw shook herself out and Brightheart leaned into Cloudtail, who gently nuzzled her.

"It'll be okay." He promised. Well, he had no reason not to believe in StarClan now. He just hoped they could save the Clan from whatever was coming.

**I know that Cloudtail is an atheist and the last part was sappy but I think he would do anything for Brightheart. Any questions, comments, rants? Review!**


End file.
